by David Menard
“You know that the next town is like ten miles from here and the streets are probably flooded with cars right?,” he asked her knowing the plan was suicidal. He was committed to the plan but he had to make sure Cindy knew that they had a slim chance of surviving.
“I know, but it’s all we can do, we can’t just stay place to place, we have to get out of this hell hole,” she replied placing a rifle into a duffle bag. A cold sweat formed on her brow, she felt nauseous. I am going to die tomorrow. She inhaled and affirmed herself. The worst case scenario is dying trapped in the store, she would rather die trying to get out. She zipped up the bag and proceeded down the hatch.
They found that Gabe and Melody were already in a tent. They had decided to share it tonight, as it could be their last night together. Cindy walked past the sealed tent and heard almost inaudible noises. Good for them, they may not get another chance. She sat with John, both unable to sleep.
“So Cindy tell me about yourself, Things I don’t know about you,” John said to Cindy. Cindy found it to be an awkward question but she didn’t mind. They knew each other for five years, and didn’t extend conversation much past sports. She pondered for a little bit and then spoke to him.
“I am a writer, well a writer in the making. I had hoped to write for a major newspaper or even be a television reporter but I could never seem to find a job. So I stuck with working at Quincy's to pay college debts,” she told John, regretting what she had done with her life. She was staring at the ground, embarrassed.
“That is great Cindy, Maybe when we get out of this mess you can report this,” John said jokingly holding his hands out, showcasing their surroundings. He was not sure at all if they could survive but it was nice to think about.
“What about you John? Tell me about you,” Cindy replied to John. She shifted in her lawn chair to give full attention to him. She did this out of obligation and some curiosity. Her mind was focused on the task at hand, this was a distraction.
“Me? Haha, oh what is there to say?” he asked rhetorically. He rubbed the stubble on his chin in thought then told Cindy about opening the shop. “My father would always take me hunting as a kid; we used to hunt duck and deer. It was a big part of my childhood. He died when I was 24 and I opened up my hunting store in honor of him,” He recalled to Cindy tiredly.
They continued their small talk for a half hour before calling it a night. They would all need their rest because tomorrow their group would venture out into the the new world.
Chapter 13: The Trap
Anthony was putting his shirt back on, he was checked over for bite marks. Burt was the one who conducted the inspection. Burt was now standing in the corner of the manager’s office putting on new bandages on the nub where his hand used to be. Fortunately for Burt, he was right handed, so he didn’t have to recoordinate himself. He would have bled out had Marcy not known what to do. He nearly went into shock when she brought up the small torch from the shop and cauterized the wound. The decision that was made that Burt would have to spend the night alone in the office. Just because it worked in the movies did not mean anything, he could still be infected.
Anthony opened the door behind him to let the others know that the inspection was finished. Marcy and Kelly entered the room to see check their comrade’s health. Kelly made sure to look away when Burt cut his own hand off; she didn’t want to see such mutilation willingly. She was not fortunate this time, as she saw the bloody nub as he took off the old bandages. He looked up and saw them staring and sighed aloud.
“Listen I will be fine, I cut off the hand before it could run through my body and we cleaned it with lots of alcohol,” he said finishing the bandaging. He then stood up and stretched and reached into his boot to take out his knife. He placed the knife on the dead manager’s desk along with his shotgun that he had holstered to his back. “Take these, if I become one of them I do not want any of you to come and try to get these,” he added as he sat back into the spinning chair.
“You are lucky I am a nurse, you could have killed yourself by doing that!” Marcy said with a tinge of anger in her voice. She shook her head in a disapproving manner and grabbed his weapons from the desk.
“I would be dead if I didn’t do it, so I had to. Might have saved my life,” Burt replied with a snarl. He and Marcy were like brother and sister, they disagreed most of the time but they respected one another. Burt looked at Kelly and saw that she was still staring at his hand again “Kell, this is nothing, I can still kill those bastards even with one hand,” he said with his attempt at humor.
“You better not die old man; I will miss that ugly face of yours.” Kelly replied in a joking manner. She was now leaning onto the door frame. She was tired and this shocking experience had worn her out. “So what about our noob? Is he clear?” she asked Burt, pointing to Anthony with her thumb. She knew he was uninfected because she had seen how fast the infection takes over.
“Yeah he is good. And not a bad shot either,” he said with an appreciative nod in Anthony’s direction. He had new respect for the stranger. “You guys should get some sleep, long day ahead tomorrow,” Burt added.
“We would have been sleeping if not for your stupid ass,” Marcy said patting him on the back. She walked out the door and down the clanging steps. The concern on her face was apparent, she knew he would not last the night. Her comment was a fitting goodbye if any, considering the nature of their relationship.
“Night Burt,” Kelly said giving him one more big hug. She smiled and followed Marcy back to the sleeping area. She too understood that this was likely goodbye. If the whole ordeal they were experiencing taught them anything, it was that everyone dies. Time was different in hell, living minute to minute, it was a lifetime ago when Tommy died. His death, although sad, did not crush her anymore. Burt was now a lifelong friend and his death would be devastating, but the feeling would pass quicker than she would think. Hours seemed like years when death was creeping at every corner.
“I still believe I haven’t caught your name,” Burt said to Anthony. The stranger earned his spot in the group. It had only dawned on Burt that they never actually introduced themselves.
“Anthony, Anthony Garrison,” Anthony replied with a nod. He sat on the edge of the desk with his back against the wall. He looked out the doorway and back to Burt. He crossed his arms. Burt showed no indication of interest in Anthony up until this point. He reckoned that with death approaching Burt, he wanted to keep his mind occupied.
“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Burt asked Anthony as he put his feet up on the desk. He placed his hand on the back of his next, looked to the ceiling and closed his eyes peacefully.
“I am-was a police officer, it’s part of the job to know how to shoot. Also, you can’t survive the dead world without good aim,” Anthony replied. He now knew that Burt trusted him, this was the most conversation he held with Burt all day.
“A man in blue? Very commendable. I once served with the military, but that was years ago…” he said trailing off. He lifted his bandaged left arm and inspected it with his eyes then looked back to Anthony. “If I am dead in the morning I want you to take care of those two, they need someone to have their backs,” he added in a very serious tone. His eyes transfixed on Anthony as he said this.
“I will. You guys took me in. I might have died on my way here if I was alone,” Anthony replied. He cared for both of them, they were his comrades now; he would put his life on the line to save them. Marcy convinced both Burt and Kelly to take him in. Kelly was his new best friend in all of this and Burt was growing on him.
“That’s what I wanted to hear. I am sorry about being non trusting of you. In this day in age you have to be careful who you trust. Even before the dead started rising,” Burt said, turning his chair around and away from Anthony.
Anthony understood the conversation was over, so he stood up, and exited the office. Before he was a full step out of the door, Burt said one last thing to him. “They are chang
ing. They are becoming predators not just vultures; that one there was waiting for me,” he said ominously indicating the dead foreman.
Anthony was horrified by what Burt said as he looked at the body. The monsters were hard enough to fight when they came stumbling around after you; but if they are evolving then chances of survival was slim. He walked down the stairs with this thought in his head. Once he reached the bottom of the steps he was encompassed in darkness. Anthony travelled through the dark trying to find where he would be sleeping when he saw a small light from an LCD screen shining. He walked towards it and was greeted by Kelly who handed him a bag of chips she managed to swipe from the vending machine.
“Have you tried to call anyone with that?” Anthony asked her while he sat down. He opened the chips and looked at Kelly waiting for an answer.
“Oh my god! Call someone? Really? I hadn’t thought of that!” she said mockingly. She started laughing a little then spoke again. “Yes I did, but there is some kind of interference. Everywhere I go is a dead zone” she said shutting the phone off.
“It’s too bad, it would be nice to reach the military or something,” Anthony said eating another chip. He was eating corn chips, his favorite. Each bite echoed, he was sure everyone could hear it. What possible interference could there be? The military must be aware if that is the case. Why haven’t they sent reinforcements?
“I use it as a flashlight now; you never know when it comes in handy. When we reach the plaza we can raid Quincy’s and get some real flashlights and food. We can hold up there too until we think of a permanent solution,” she said lying down with her hands behind her head.
“What happens if it’s overrun with the dead, or if everything is gone, or both?” Anthony asked curiously. He wanted to stay with his group but he didn’t want to go into an undead hot zone. He barely got this far and did not want to take anymore risks.
“We will see when we get there, hell we can kill a shit ton of them if we have to. I just want a place to stay for a couple of days or so before we have to go further on with our journey,” Kelly said with a yawn. She turned on her side and closed her eyes. “Good night Anthony,” she added before falling asleep.
The morning came fast for Anthony Garrison. He sat up, stretched his arms and looked around. Marcy and Kelly were still sleeping. He decided not to bother them so he stood up and grabbed his guns quietly. He slowly proceeded towards those loud, yellow, metal stairs. He ascended the stairs until he came to the closed door. Before he touched the knob he cocked his gun.
“There won’t be no need for that,” said a raspy voice from inside the office. Upon hearing this Anthony put the safety on his gun and opened the door. Burt was going through the contents of the office. Burt looked good, he was up and about.
“Glad to see you’re still alive,” Anthony replied holstering his weapon. He looked upon ransacked office, Burt looked through everything apparently.
He walked passed Anthony and started down the stairs. He glanced back towards Anthony. “Come on, let’s wake those two up,” he added as he descended.
Anthony followed Burt to their sleeping comrades and woke them up. Marcy saw Burt, gave him a nod and started to pack things up. Upon seeing Burt, Kelly ran over and hugged him. He hugged her back then spoke. “So how about my knife and gun back?” he asked Marcy.
Marcy grabbed his knife from her bag and gave it to him. “I don’t think you can use a shotgun with one hand Burt. I think you should use one of Anthony’s pistols,” she told him as she tossed Burt’s shotgun to Anthony. Anthony caught it and started putting it in his bag. Before he could get it in the bag Burt spoke to him.
“Here take this Anthony,” Burt said giving Anthony his shotgun holster. Anthony looked at it then at Burt. He was unsure to take it but Burt nodded at him. He affixed it onto his back and placed the gun in it. After equipping the shotgun he went into his bag and gave Burt a spare pistol along with a couple clips of ammunition.
“Thanks Burt,” Anthony said appreciatively. He put his bag on his shoulder and withdrew two pistols. “Are you guys ready to leave?” he asked. He looked like he belonged in a ‘shoot em up” movie. He was the action star, ready to save the day.
Kelly looked at Burt and Marcy, “I think so,” she said. She readied her weapon as Marcy took down the barricade. When they saw the coast was clear, they left the garage behind.
“The plaza should be about 3 miles from here; it will be a huge driveway on a hill to our left.” Marcy said from behind. She had taken Burt’s position because of his handicap. Anthony acted as scout; he walked about 100 feet ahead of the group to scout out any assailants.
It was a hot humid day, and the sun was beating down on all of them. The smell of dried up blood and rotting skin was overpowering. No enemies were in sight, which was surprising. Anthony called the group for a quick break when he found a spot he felt was safe. The break lasted a couple of minutes because they wanted to keep a solid pace. The group reached the peak of the steep road and saw the last thing they want to see; a few dozen dead were walking in their direction.
“Get down,” whispered Burt. The group got to a low point of view and cocked their weapons. The asphalt felt like fire. They looked to Burt, hoping he had a plan. He anticipated an exodus of undead at some point in their journey. He exhaled and looked over to his companions.
“What do we do? Should we just go in shooting?” asked Kelly nervously. She hated encountering the creatures; life was always on the line. She was looking at Burt intently. Even with the ammunition they possessed, there were too many of them.
“That is exactly what we do, once we shoot it will attract more,” Burt replied as he stood up. “I want you three to shoot them when they are close together, the shotgun will kill a group of two or three with one shot, saving ammo,” he added. Ammunition was getting low.
They all stood and jogged down the incline towards the group of the undead. Burt took the first shot at one wondering away from the pack. Once he fired the rest turned around and started limping towards them, moaning. Marcy took out a small cluster with one shot as Burt instructed. Anthony had jumped over the hood of a crashed vehicle and killed a few coming up the side. He took down an old man and a firefighter with a couple shots from his pistols. He was killing the majority of the crowd with his quickfire and accuracy. Kelly was standing in the bed of a run down pickup truck shooting any creatures that came her way. She was almost taken down by an undead teenager. It was wearing skinny jeans and a snow hat, an emo as kids called them. His entire ensemble was blood stained from previous meals. With all the commotion it crept under the truck and pulled itself up via the tailgate. Kelly turned in time to hit it in the head with the butt of her gun, sending it toppling backwards. When it fell to the ground she ran over and blew its brains out. It was sneaking up on me! What the fuck?
The last one standing approached Burt slowly. The dragging of its broken foot echoed in the graveyard that was created. Burt stuck his firearm in his belt and pulled out his knife. He walked briskly toward the creature and stabbed it between the eyes, causing the monster to go still. He held the knife in place and kicked the dead off his blade.
“I think that was all of them,” said Anthony panting. He started reloading his gun just in case they ran into more. Everyone else did the same. Kelly helped Burt reload his weapon and Marcy was already scouting behind them, ensuring nothing tried sneaking up on them.
They heard loud moans coming from the bushes on the side of the road. The group averted their attention and saw dozens more of the undead coming out of the bushes. Anthony looked on the other side and saw another large number emerging from a local tile shop. The doors were busted into and left on the ground, giving no resistance to the group emerging. The undead were closing in as the group stood frozen. It was Burt who managed to say something in the group’s stunned silence.
“Run!” he growled and they all took off. Burt started firing rapidly to the ones closest to them. He killed a couple but
the sea of dead was to deep, more took the fallen’s place. Kelly shot two times with her shotgun pushing them back along with killing a few. She was running alongside Burt as Anthony kept pace on the other side, preventing them from closing in on them as Marcy stayed behind briefly for cover. Anthony fired his pistols, dispatching the undead in efficient order.
Marcy was struggling to run, she never was a runner. She couldn’t keep up with the group but she was killing the ones creeping behind her comrades. She fired her last shot at a young child who was clicking her teeth, fast approaching Kelly. She hit the monster toddler in the back, toppling it over. Marcy started to reload while on the run. As she did so, she tripped and fell face first on the asphalt, breaking her nose.
“Marcy!” Anthony yelled as he started to run back for her. He didn’t realize that she fell back so much; his focus was on the creatures fast approaching. He looked back when he heard the last gunshot from Marcy’s gun and realized the gravity of the situation. There were numerous monsters and they were closing in on the fallen Marcy.
“Just go!” she yelled to him as she started pushing the dead away from her. She was on her back now kicking at them, the blood gushing from her nose, enticing them even more. Anthony kept firing at the group surrounding her but it was no hope, there were too many of them and soon they were completely encircling Marcy. “GAAAAAAH” she screamed as they ripped into her. They started biting her legs and soon they were clawing at her ears and neck. She was dead within a minute.
Burt and Kelly heard the screams and stopped and saw Anthony shooting the crowd. Kelly went to run and help, but was stopped by Burt. He looked at her, shook his head and pushed her to go further. “Anthony let’s go! Before they come after us again!” Burt roared as he pressed on with Kelly. Anthony watched the horde eat his friend alive, frozen. When he snapped back to reality he turned around and sprinted after Kelly and Burt.